Research trends in polymer materials for use in lightweight vehicles

Weight reduction of vehicle is very important because vehicle weight directly affects energy consumption. Studies researching lightweight vehicle manufacturing process that use polymers are reviewed in this paper. Approaches reducing the weights of vehicles using polymers most frequently involve replacing ferrous and non-ferrous metals with polymers and increasing the specific strengths and rigidities of polymers. Researches into polymers for use in lightweight vehicle are classified into high performance polymers, polymers for weight reduction, reinforced polymer composites, polymer sandwich panels, and polymer/metal hybrid systems. A diverse range of polymer materials can be used to make vehicle components and the manufacturing methods required to produce and work those materials vary greatly. Shaping processes must be chosen according to the materials being used and the product design. Replacement of metal products with polymer materials in current vehicles is limited. Large amounts of lightweight materials, such as polymers, will be greatly used to construct newly developed vehicles, including electric and electric/hybrid vehicles.